Wood Hite

Robert Woodson "Wood" Hite (c. 1850 – December 4, 1881) was an outlaw and cousin of Frank and Jesse James. He was a member of the James-Younger gang, participating in a number of robberies and other crimes. He was shot dead by Robert Ford during a gunfight with Ford's friend Dick Liddil. The death of Hite precipitated the series of events that culminated in the killing of Jesse James by Ford.

Early life Wood Hite was born in about 1850 in Logan, Kentucky, to George Burns Hite and Nancy Gardner Hite (nee James). His mother was the sister of Robert Sallee James, the father of Frank and Jesse James of the James-Younger Gang, making Wood a first cousin to the James brothers.

Hite fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War as a member of William T. Anderson's raiders.

Criminal career After the disastrous Northfield Minnesota raid in 1876, James needed new gang members. Wood and his brother Clarence joined the gang. Bill O'Neal describes him as a "gangling, stoop-shouldered man with prominent, decaying front teeth." Easily recognized, he was quickly forced into hiding after he was identified following robberies by the gang. Ford claimed that on January 12, 1882, he met with Missouri governor Thomas Crittenden who agreed to pardon Ford for the murder of Wood Hite if he would deliver Jesse James, dead or alive. Robert Ford shot Jesse James shortly after James saw a news report of Liddil's confession to the killing of Hite. Ford claimed that he believed James would turn on him after learning of the murder. After the death of James, Ford stood trial for Hite's murder and was found not guilty by a jury. In April 1901, Liddil was rearrested for the murder of Hite, but was later released, dying of heart failure three months later.

Portrayal In the 2007 movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Hite was portrayed by Jeremy Renner. His death is portrayed as the result of a gun battle between Hite and Liddil in a bedroom after Hite appears to have been attempting to take them by surprise. When Liddil runs out of bullets, Hite points his gun at his head at point-blank range, only to be shot from behind by Ford.